Blowing device for rock drills



y 1.950 A. FEucH'f ET AL 2,514,852

BLOWING DEVICE FOR ROCK DRILLS Filed Dec. 22, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS. ALBERT FEUCHT WALTER A. S CHiRMER BY ATTORNEYS July 11, 1950 A. FEUCHT ETAL BLOWING DEVICE FOR ROCK DRILLSA 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 22, 1945 INVENTORS, ALBERT FEUCHT WALTER A. SOHIRMER ATTORNEYS A. FEUCHT ETAL BLOWING DEVICE FOR ROCK DRILLS July 11, 1950 Filed Dec. 22, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 -Flea ALBERT FEUCHT WALTER A. SGHIRMER ATTORNEYS REFIGJQZ By 716%, Maw

PIES."

July 11, 1950 A. FEUCHT 'ETAL 2,514,852

BLOWING DEVICE FOR ROCK DRILLS Filed Dec. 22, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 93 INVENTORS, 920W ALBERT FEUCHT 3 74 86 BY WALTER A. SCHIRMER ATTORNEYS imeohanisms .ifor oontnolling rook fir-ills.

:(Dne of th'e llimitatlonstoibe found in prior art ilor'ills :nf the mheraeter :referr-ed toais "their .in-

to deliver'zsumeient compressed fluidior ihidwing thefl-hole dfi-Hfi thereby elean ofl dust Hana outtmgs. In fsome :pr-lor devices having-ineparateports anti passages star the blowing opera- Pa tented July 11, 1950 PATENT on 51MB present invention relates topressnrei fluid vviopematlad 'erook drills iOf the reoiprooating impact gpiston a-ndmmone (particularly. to valve the operation of suoh fition, :has been necessairy to balance the piston .gportlomof the 'reelpr'oeatmg iiammer or the drill love the enha ust*;portof the drill motor to avoid waste or L'DTESSHBE fluid with consequent loss-tin hlowmg' pr'essnre; rhoweven, ethis :method :has' not afiwaysiproven nsatistactoryr other devices,

wolumeof Ifluid available for zblowing l ias ,ibeen- Zllmltlni to-ithe camel-day not the automatic ivailwewot the ion-11 motor and is generally insufii- E'eient to: blowing deep :holes clean fibeca'use a good automatic valve is economical int he disbursein-entxof compressed;iflnid H l a In wo'cordance the zabovajtheretore; one of ithe-zprineipal objects of the :present invention the-"provision of ra novel and "improveel roek Lori-ll; of the ehameter referred to having valve meohanlsm moludmg an automatic valve ;-'for the of compressed :for blowing opera- 1 smother 'bjeetthe provision of ;a 'ILIOVVEVI and proved: mock drill ofithe .o'naraoter refenred ihavingmalve mechazfism that can be :opepa'ted iata idistanoeil nom the will proper for oontroL;

the (killing and iblowing operations j-off the $1111. I

Another objeot isthe provision ofkanoveland or the dIi-II-LmotoI diming the: blowing operation wthont thetneoesslty of balancing the {piston portion of the reciprocating hammer o1; plunger otter!theexlziaust port of the-.moton v -1Aiurther objectisthapnovision-:ofainox elkand iimprovedlsrook. arm of 'L'th'e oharaoter referred fito fllhaviingm-ia lblowin g system. in which the .Jfu'll of compressed ifluiizlkavail'alble tor operatthmok' iir'ill motor' is made available for the 'iilbWliimgQpera'tion.

'lllliei'invenfiion resides in certain constructions anfiicomlainaition aniiatrangementsof partsrand ifturitlier ohjeo'ts and advantageswvill "be apparent ioihoseslii-lledin "the la'rit to whi'li 'itqrlates v litoml fii'e renew n of m prerenee 55 embofiiment ci-esoribed with reference to the aeoompan ying drawings forming a part of this Specification in which similar'reterenee ohar'aetens designate cormespontlingparts, land in which: F-ig. 1-; is an elevation of .a wagon type roo'k (drill employing the present invention.

'Eig.-2 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 2-:: of Fig. showing the :remoteeontrol valve inposition for*clrilling. V Fig 3 a View eimilarto F-ig. 2,-showing athe inen ote 'oontrol valve imposition for blowing ,Fig. 44s a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line l -4 obFig; fl-vzand showing the in the operation-of drilling. M Fig '5 is a view similar to Fig. 4,-ShoWi-ng the .ciri il'l in'ithe operation of blowing.

611s? fragmentary sectional view taken on the line=6l6 ofiF ig.4 and shows the differen- 'tiali- 'val ve i n the drilling position; 7 Eigs' .8 antl ilzare fragmentary sectional views taken. on the ,lines 1 l.,- 8 8. and 9--8., respec- Ltivel-y, fLF-ig-JB. v

Fig; 10 a section similar to Fig. taken-on "the "line Til-I'll of Fig. 5,, and shows the (inferenftial' valve 'in positionvlffor blowing.

Figs. 1 1, ,"12 and-'13 are fragmentary sectional f n-e e taken, onthe lines li-TI, l'2l2fl'atnd 1:31-13,'ll especliivly; Of Ei g". 10 for companison With'Figs. 7,; 8 and 'Q.

F1514 is efragmentary sectional view 'of' tl'ie "automatiovalvle trip meehan'i'sm taken alorig 'the line f|4'- I'1 CifFigPLIO. a I a Fig. '15 is a-sectional view, taken approximately mprovedmock vdnill ot the character xefierredto I hawing, means ier sealingon the exhaust 7 port; 46

Fig; 1613 :a f ragmenta'zy sectional viemfwith {portions in elevation, taken approximately on "t liel'ine [6 -1 6 Of 'Fi'g. 4'; and

F1351? and-18am fragmentary sectional views jshowing'a modified'fonn o'f theiinventi'onapplied toia'hanii-operatedirok drill.

\ Referring: to the drawings; the r f reneeenar- .eaet'er [A designates generally a roek drill. siidably mounted :in "a conventional manner upon panel- Tiis'fii; .Bmeuntea' on: :a wagon drill rig' C; "The ilrill iiigl shown per se forms'xno partj df'th preserft'flnvefitidn, similar to that iiis'c'l'o'sel' and nlaime'cl in "a cop enii'ng application of Albert Element; 'Serial No.75'64;583, filed November T22, 2194i, entitled Portable min mg; and will notbehfein iies'cxi'bed in detail;

that the rock drill A is adapted to be moveanom i'one, end" to the-other of the ways Ill, ll "by a 'pres'snrel fluid actuated fe'eel motor; not shown,

of 'gt'neiireeding mechanism-1B flxellv secur" 1 ea: to

supported within a valve housing 43 connected to and forming a part of the valve housing I2, but which may be otherwise constructed and located, as desired. The valve 42 is tubular in shape and the interior thereof 44 is continuously connected with a source of pressure fluid. Pressure fluid ffori 'reciprocatiiig the combination jgpiston and hammer'Dof the drill'rnotorfis supplied thereto front or lower end of the member ldlis closed, v

except for the opening through which the shank end or hammer I! of the plunger'D projects, bya tubular spacer member l8provided' withan ex-1 ternal flange fixedly secured between the. front or lower end of the cylinder [4 and the rear'or' upper end of a tubular'chuck housing IS. The.

spacer member [8 includes a rearwardlyprojectfrom the valve 42 by a flexible motor conduit or hose line 45 connected to the back head l5 of the ;drill and to the housing 43 in any suitable manner.

As shown, the hose 45 is connected to the housing 43 bya-nipple 46 to which the hose is secured ing portion provided with a spacer bushing" within which the reduced shank portion or hamm'erfend I! of the combination pistonland nam- 'mer is slidably supported. The chuck housing l9 encloses a chuck rotating sleeve 2 I,'thejrear end 3 of which is provided with a chuck nut 22 fixedly "securecl thereto and within which the shank end of the plunger D is slidably but non-rotatably f secured. The rear end of the drill steel or bit 23 projects into a chuck jaw 24 non-rotatably'secured to the forward end of the sleeve 2|, and-a *bushing 25' also located within thesleeve 2|. The

-. drill steel 23 is provided with lugs 26 which enrfgage within suitable slots 21 in the chuck jaw 24 so thatrotation is imparted to the drill steel upon 5 rotation of the chuck jaw24 and the sleeve2 l. The combination piston and hammer D is T I adapted to be rotated upon reciprocation thereof wand; in turn, the sleeve 2|, the chuck 24, and the drill-steel 23 by a rifle bar 29 projecting into the rear or piston end 30 of the plunger D and having Ysplined engagement with a nut 31 detachably secured to the plunger. The rifle bar 29 is rotatably supported in a valve sleeve 32 within the cylinder I l-adjacent to its rear end and a rifle bar bearing plate 33 within the backhead l5. The rifle bar 29 is prevented'from rotating as the plunger D travels in a backward direction by a plurality of spring pressed pawls 34 carried thereby and locat'ed intermediate the valve sleeve .32 andthe rifle bar bearing plate 33, which pawls cooperate with a ratchet'ring 35 also interposed between the sleeve 32 and the plate 33. The 'c0nstruction is such that the drill steel 23 is given a partial "rotation upon each reciprocation of the combination piston and hammer D. Thevalve sleeve 32, plate 33, ratchet ring 35 and avalve'block 36, hereinafter referred to, are maintained in predetermined. alignment and prevented from rotating within the cylinder member l4 by a pin. 31 lo- "cated in a longitudinal aperture formed half in the cylinder Hand half in the parts referred to. The drill steel 23 is hollow and water; air, steam fo r the like, may be supplied thereto by a tube 40 during the drilling operation. The reduced front end of the tube Mlnormally projects into the rear end of the drill steel 23. The rear end of the tube All is connected to the'back head '15 and thefltube extends axially of the drill through the rifle bar 25 and the combination piston and hammer D,

etc. The rear'. end of the tubev 40 may be connected to a source of fluid in any convenient 1" Pressure fluid, preferably. compressed air; for "operating the drill may be obtained from any suitable source,:not shown, and is supplied to, the drill" by a'remotecontrol valve 42 rotatably by suitable clamp wires 41. The interior of the nip'p1e'46 communicates with a chamber 48 in the housing '43, which chamber is adapted to be selectively: connected with the interior of the valve 42 by a passage 50 in the housing 43 and an arcuate slot 5| in the side of the valve 42, see Fig. 2.

' The'valve 42 maybe rotated in a counterclockwise clirectionirom the positionshown in Fig.2 to shut ofi the flow'of pres'sur'e fluid to the conduit 45, and in turn, the rock drill motor, onto the position shown in Fig. 3 by a manual lever 52 fixed thereto; -'-Wl'1en rotated to the position shown 'in' Fig. 3}pr'essure fluid is supplied not only to therock drill motor but t'o'a' difierential valve; designated generally by the-reference character E, and hereinaftermor'e specifically referred to, by a differential valve conduit or hose 53 connected to the valve housing 43 in a: manner similar to that in which the motor hos'e '"is 'conne'cted thereto, and to the back head -l5.'- When '--the'valve 42 is in the position shown in 'Fig. 2, the difierentialhose '53 is connected to atmosphere by an arcuate slot-'54 in the exterior of the valve'42, which slot'coinmunicates with the passage 55 inthe housing .43 similar to the passage 50,p'reviously referred to, and with a port 56 in the housing W, which with continuously open to atmosphere. 1 l

Pressure fluid is delivered by the motorhose 45 to an aperture 60 in the backhad lli, which aperture is continuously in communication with an annular chamber 6i in the'rearside of the frifie barfbearing plate 33 by a passage 62 in the back head member.- The chamber 6| is in continuouscommunication with a'pluralitfy" bf longitudinally extending'passag'es s3,--'cmy one of i which is shown in Fig. 4, formed partly inthe plate 33, ratchet ring 35, valve sleeve-32;, arid-valve block 36. The flow of pressure fluid to' opposite sides of the piston portion of the'pl'u'nger D'for reciprocatingthe latter is'contro'lled by an automatic valve' F slidablysupported in asuitable aperture formed partly in the valve sleeve 32, the

valve block 36 and a valve cap 65; 'allof which are located in the cylinder member I4 adjacent" to its rear end and held in fixed relation; thereto and to eachother by being clamped between .a-shoulder on'the interioroff the cylinder and the back head 15." j v Asshown in Fig. 4;,the pa'rts arein thepositlon which they occupywhen-the plunger D is at the forward end of its stroke; Pressure fluid is being admitted. tothe' cylinder ahead of the pistori'SU j of the plunger D througha passage :66 inthe cylinder wall, the rear end of whichis in conimleu .wm u ea i n, w th i red al pas a e in the valve block36,fwhich radial passage in turn communicates with an annular. chamber .68 als in .thejvalve block.- Pressure'fluid ist'being ppl d i e h mber 6 r mihenass s 63 by an annular 'groovelfl and'a plurality of radial 7 fluid against the small end II2 of the differential valve and the passage 83 through the differential valve is in register with the exhaust passage 82 in the cylinder I4, as previously described.

The chamber. H5 in thecap H4 is at all times connected with the diiferential valve conduit or hose line 53 through radial apertures I22 in the cap II4 which communicate with an annular chamber I23, which annular chamber is connected by a transversely extending passage I24 with a longitudinally extending passage I25, the rear portion of which is in alignment with a passage I26 in the back head I5, which latter (passage is in direct communication with the conduit'53. When the remote control valve 42 is shifted from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 3, pressure fluid in addition to being supplied to the drill motor through the conduit 45 is supplied through the conduit 53 to the chamber H5 at the left-hand end of the differential valve E where it will act against the larger .end of the differential valve, exerting a greater 'force thereon than the force constantly applied to the smaller or right-hand end of the valve,

with the result that the differential valve will be shifted longitudinally in the bore 91, and

through the action of the spiral slot I20 and a pin .I2l it will be rotated through 90 degrees. The position which the valve now occupies is is shifted to blowing position, pressure fluid is "being supplied to the cylinder aheadof the piston 30 through the passage 63, with the result that the piston will be moved toward the rear.

- That part of the cylinder to the rear of the piston 30 isvented toatmosphere by a passage I2'I opening into the rear part of the cylinder intermediate the return trip port 13 and the valve cap 65. The passage I2? is connected to the inner end of a passage I 23 extendin across the bore 91 and opening to atmosphere. The passage I28 is normally closed by the differential valve, see Fig. 9, but the respective parts thereof are connected by a passage I29 in the differential valve when the parts are in the position referred to, see

Fig. 13.

The return air trip port 73 is no longer vented to atmosphere through the passages 93, etc., but i now connected to the passage MI by a passage I30 in the differential valve opening into the aperture 83, which passage now communicates with the passage 95 previously referred to. The construction is such that pressure fluid is supplied through the passage I30, port I3 which is again covered by the piston 30 hortly after it starts its return stroke, and passages 44, I5 to the annular chamber 16 at the rear side of the flange ll of the automatic valve F. Thus the automatic valve is held in its forward position shown in Fig. 4 while the differential valve is in position for blowing. When the power stroke tripport 85 is exposed by the piston 30 as it moves toward the rear, it is ineffective to shift the automatic valve from the position referred to because of the pressure in the chamber I6 and the fact that the passage 86 is constantly open to at- Actuation of the automatic lever I31 connected thereto.

mosphere by the passage I 00, thus preventing the building up of sufficient pressure on the forward side of the automatic valve to overcome the pressure on the rear side thereof.

From the foregoing it will be apparent thatif the plunger D isat the rear end of its stroke when the automatic valve is shifted to blowing position, it will remainthere. If the plunger is in any other position, it will be moved to the rear end of its stroke, which is approximately the position shown in Fig. 5

A modified form of the invention is illustrate in Figs. 1'7 and 18 wherein a hand-operated valve I35 corresponding with the valve 42 of the preferred embodiment is mounted in the back head I36. The rock drill is the same as that shown in the preferred embodiment, with the exception of the back head, and only the rear end of the drill is shown. The parts shown in Figs. 15 and 16, which are duplicates of those employed in the preferred embodiment are designated by the same reference characters. The valve- I35 has three positions corresponding with the three positions of the valve 42 and is adapted tobe manipulated from one position to the other by a As shown in Fig. 17, the central aperture I38-of the valve, which aperture is continuously connected with asource of pressure fluid, is connected by a passage or port I40 therein with a' passage I4Iin the back head I36, which latter passage corresponds with the passage 62 in the back head I5 and communicates with the annular chamberBI in the bearing plate 33. The passage I42 corresponding with the passage I26 of the preferred embodiment is open to atmospherethrough a port I43 by an arcuately-shaped groov I44 in the valve corresponding with the groove 54in the valve 42. When the valve I35 is in the position shown in Fig. 18, the central aperture thereof is connected by the port I40 to both the drill motor and the differential valve, the former by way of the passage Itl and the latter by way of the passage I42.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the objects heretofore enumerated and others have been accomplished and that there has been provided a new and improved, pneumatic rock drill of the reciprocating plunger type wherein all of V the pressure fluid available for operating the drill motor is made available for the blowing operation and wherein pressure fluid delivered to the rear end of the hollow drill steel is prevented from escaping through the drill motor, etc., and is forced to flow through the drill steel, thus making it possible to blow holes clean irrespective of their depth. While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in considerable detail, we do not wish to be limited to the particular constructions shown which may be varied within the scope of this invention and it is our intention to hereby cover all adaptations, modifications and uses thereof which come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In a pressure fluid operated rock drill of the reciprocating impact plunger type, a drill motor adapted to have a hollow drill steel operatively connected thereto, and means for supplying pressure fluid to said motor and to the interior of the drill teel, said means comprising a pressure fluid conveying passage, an automatic valve for controlling the flow of the pressure fluid from said passage to said drill motor and a blow valve for controlling the flow of pressure fluid from said passage to the drill steel, said blow valve comprising a cylinder and a plunger slidable therein,

constantly admitting pressure fluid to said small end and normally maintaining said blow valve into inoperative position, and remote control means for introducing pressure fluid into the large end of said cylinder for shifting said plunger to blowing position.

2. In a pressure fluid operated rock drill of the reciprocating impact plunger type, a drill motor adapted to have a hollow drill steel operatively connected thereto, and means for supplying pressure fluid to said motor and to the interior of the drill steel, said means comprising an automatic valve for controlling the fiow of pressure fluid to said drill motor and a blow valve for controlling theflow of pressure fluid to the drill steel, said blow valve comprising a cylinder and a plunger slidable therein, said cylinder and plunger having a small end and a large end, means for connecting the small end of said cylinder permanently to the pressure fluid supply ahead of said automatic valve for constantly admitting pressure fluid to said small end and normally maintaining said blow valve into inoperative position, and control means for introducing pressure fluid into the large end of said cylinder for shifting said plunger to blowing position.

3. In a pressure fluid operated rock drill of the reciprocating impact plunger type, a drill motor adapted to have a hollow drill operatively connected thereto, and means for supplying pressure fluid to said motor and to the interior of the drill steel, said means comprising a first and a second pressure fluid conveying conduits, an automatic valve for controlling the flow of pressure fluid from said first conduit to said drill motor, and a blow valve for controlling the flow of pressure fluid from said first conduit to the drill steel, said blow valve comprising a cylinder and a plunger slidable therein, said cylinder and plunger having a small end and a large end, means for connecting the small end of said cylin-' der permanently to said first conduit ahead of said automatic valve for normally maintaining said blow valve into inoperative position, and control means for connecting the large end of said plunger to blowing position.

4. In a fluid operated rock drill of the recipro eating impact plunger type, a fluid motor comprising a piston and a cylinder therefor, a hollow drill steel operatively associated with said motor, means for supplying pressure fluid to said cylinder on opposite sides of said piston alternately and to the interior of the drill steel, said cylinder having exhaust passages adapted to be uncovered by said piston, an automatic valve for controlling the supply of pressure fluid to said motor, a blow valve for controlling the supply of pressure fluid to the drill steel, said blow valve comprising a cylinder and a plunger slidable and rotatable therein, said cylinder and plunger having a passage therethrough and functioning in one position of the plunger to close off flow to the drill steel and open said exhaust and in another position to establish fiow to said drill steel and close ofi said exhaust, means responsive to the slidable movement of said plunger for automatically effecting its rotation into said one or another position, said cylinder and plunger having a small end and .a large end, means for connecting said small end permanently to the pressure fluid supply ahead of said automatic valve for normally maintaining said blow valve into said one position, and control means for introducing pressure fluid into the large end of said cylinder for sliding and rotating said plunger into said another position.

ALBERT FEUCHT. WALTER A. SCHIRMER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,100,825. Greve June 23, 1914 1,637,203 Slater July 26, 1927 1,813,774 Smith July '7, 1931 1,829,245 Smith Oct. 27, 1931 1,865,609 Bayles July 5, 1932 2,251,224 Curtis July 29, 1941 2,326,383 Morrison Aug. 10, 1943 

